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I think Harvester is fascinating because yeah, it's being edgy as gently caress, but was trying to say something about videogame violence using that... but in using game violence in that way to commentate on game violence itself, AND simultaneously trying to say about 50 other different things about sex and violence, it convoluted the whole goddamn thing up until it reached a critical fail state for proving any of those points, really. I think just writing the whole game off as "morally disgusting" is a disservice to what it was attempting (and failing) to do. And despite all the unsavoryness and edgelord stuff, I still really like the basic world/plot and I think its absurdity and creepiness pair well together. Even the endings are convoluting the theme: if games AREN'T murder-simulators training people to become killers....... why does Steve become a serial killer/cannibal in one ending? Isn't that against the point you were trying to make, gamedevs, that the very idea of that is ludicrous? They didn't stay on-theme because they wanted their game to be cool and have a cool "bad ending", falling into the trap of accidentally ruining their main thesis. Not to mention that the ad campaign was all about how hosed UP AND GORY the game is... while it's trying to make a commentary on how game violence won't affect gamers, (but does, in the bad ending.) Like, even the ad campaign doesn't help support its thesis! Some aspects of the game are trying to say really interesting things that, although blunt, I haven't seen in other games before - the critique of 50's culture being naturally sexist and just as violent as 90s games is great, in that it's not only reflected in the world's media (via Range Rider's show) and those that consume it (Steve's brother), but also in the home (with Steve's mom's "perfect housewife appearance" and constant need to bake cookies while simultaneously being a terrible mother and violent sexual deviant) and with Edna's stalker/harasser, Mr. Johnson (and how nobody takes that too seriously.) Let alone how interesting Mr. Johnson is: a man who treats his car with profound love and respect, and treats a woman (Edna) with extreme disrespect and spiteful horniness. Every "mom" in the whole game (besides Edna) is played by the same actress, with Mrs. Pottsdam and Mom never even getting "real names", as they are only important in how they are related to a man - Mrs. Pottsdam to Mr. Pottsdam, and Mom to Steve. Even Mr. Pottsdam calls his wife Mrs. Pottsdam. Not to mention the sheer insanity of the Lodge Itself, where the game piles on even MORE absurdly blunt philosophical/moral musings at the very end of the game, as if you weren't overwhelmed by confusing hot takes yet! lol Also, I think the protagonist's actor being a pedophile isn't something you can blame the game for, it's not like the devs KNEW and purposefully hired a pedophile to make the game more edgy.
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Aug 26, 2016 17:49
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Why didn't anyone tell me Siren was available for PS4? Seriously excited to play that now.
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Aug 26, 2016 17:55
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VoidBurger posted:I think Harvester is fascinating because yeah, it's being edgy as gently caress, but was trying to say something about videogame violence using that... but in using game violence in that way to commentate on game violence itself, AND simultaneously trying to say about 50 other different things about sex and violence, it convoluted the whole goddamn thing up until it reached a critical fail state for proving any of those points, really. I think just writing the whole game off as "morally disgusting" is a disservice to what it was attempting (and failing) to do. And despite all the unsavoryness and edgelord stuff, I still really like the basic world/plot and I think its absurdity and creepiness pair well together. lol[/spoiler] the game was showing how dumb the idea was by taking it to its logical and most ludicrous conclusion - it would've been pretty annoying and saccharine if steve just ends up being normal and well adjusted at the end take THAT moral crusaders. though i do sorta agree with al-azad's post it'd be cool playing a game like harvester without the twist ending (and also not an adventure game). i'm with you that the world is freaky and cool in its own way without the "message". chitoryu12 posted:I think Harvester is up there with Darkseed in terms of entertainment. It's a bizarre game in appearance and plot that usually ends up unintentionally hilarious when it's not being disturbing (more funny than disturbing, usually). did you mean darkseed 2? Groovelord Neato fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Aug 26, 2016 |
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Aug 26, 2016 18:53
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VoidBurger posted:Also, I think the protagonist's actor being a pedophile isn't something you can blame the game for, it's not like the devs KNEW and purposefully hired a pedophile to make the game more edgy. They should have known and since they didn't as a result the game is completely unplayable. 
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Aug 26, 2016 19:01
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joylessdivision posted:Why didn't anyone tell me Siren was available for PS4? Take my advise use a guide at least for secondary objectives. It controlled like rear end at the time and has only gotten worse. Shame because I love the atmosphere, I just can't stand playing it anymore.
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Aug 26, 2016 19:01
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VoidBurger posted:Also, I think the protagonist's actor being a pedophile isn't something you can blame the game for, it's not like the devs KNEW and purposefully hired a pedophile to make the game more edgy. steve always was a kidder
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Aug 26, 2016 19:10
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Sakurazuka posted:Take my advise use a guide at least for secondary objectives. It controlled like rear end at the time and has only gotten worse. Shame because I love the atmosphere, I just can't stand playing it anymore. After spending close to two hours of my Resident Evil play through wandering aimlessly, I'm playing pretty much every old horror game with a guide handy.
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Aug 26, 2016 19:21
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lol RE 1 might as well have objective markers and a mini-map compared to Siren.
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Aug 26, 2016 19:28
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Groovelord Neato posted:did you mean darkseed 2? Darkseed 2 is a work of art for all the wrong reasons, but the original is a fantastic pile of poo poo by itself.
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Aug 26, 2016 20:09
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I haven't finished it but I remember getting stuck in what I think was a rock quarry in Siren. It's a really difficult game to navigate. Imagine having to play Silent Hill without a map but you're also stuck in the dark world permanently.
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Aug 26, 2016 20:15
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chitoryu12 posted:Darkseed 2 is a work of art for all the wrong reasons, but the original is a fantastic pile of poo poo by itself. i just meant darkseed 2 is much more like harvester in style and characters/world (and has a ridiculous twist at the end). darkseed is hilarious because i don't know a game that requires a walkthrough more to even have a snowball's chance in hell of beating it.
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Aug 26, 2016 20:16
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Most of my experience with those games come from watching people rip them to shreds, but I can see ways in which Dark Seed could have been a horror game, but Harvester always seemed like a satire and there isn't really anything in it that is scary. I agree with VB in the fact that the game is fascinating and I'd love to see a small documentary or some good news articles on just how that nightmare came together.
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Aug 26, 2016 20:53
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i'm really upset i'll never know if mike dawson in dark seed 2 was just a wacko or if the dark world really existed
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Aug 26, 2016 21:07
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Lord Chumley posted:steve always was a kidder 
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Aug 26, 2016 21:08
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al-azad posted:I haven't finished it but I remember getting stuck in what I think was a rock quarry in Siren. It's a really difficult game to navigate. Imagine having to play Silent Hill without a map but you're also stuck in the dark world permanently. Best part is that Siren does have a map, it just doesn't show your location on it so you have to work it out yourself, which possibly makes it even more confusing.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:02
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Siren hates you, the player, on a deep and personal level and dedicates every minute of its considerable run time to making you feel that hatred.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:03
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Just finished Inside. Pretty loving creepy. A+ I recommend it.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:03
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Also started Siren, and... I really wanna like the Japanese Evil Dead hijinks, but it sure ain't gonna make it easy. Every minute playing it is the most disoriented I've been in any game ever. You cant even rotate the camera, but it's not like you can tell whats in front of you anyway, with a wall of darkness that only changes from black to brown if you raise gamma and noise filter that looks more like compression artifacts. I also like how when I aim a gun my character's back covers the entirety of the screen with no chance to see where he's pointing it. And having to waggle the controller to escape death is giving me Wii PTSD hardcore. Man, that is one early-rear end ps3 game.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:29
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It was PS2
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Aug 26, 2016 22:41
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I thought we were talking BLOOD CURSE. Never tried the older ones.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:45
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The first one is available on PS4 now and is well worth hchecking out
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Aug 26, 2016 22:46
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woodenchicken posted:I thought we were talking BLOOD CURSE. Never tried the older ones. Blood Curse is much, much easier than the original. Original Siren is one of very few games I've played that I genuinely couldn't finish.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:47
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Yeah, the idea is generally you *don't* want to fight the zombies, you'll lose (besides with the odd character who manages to be pretty strong, like Old Man Sniper. Then kill them with impunity).
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Aug 26, 2016 22:48
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Oh, and if y'all haven't played the (FREE!) steam game Moirai, it's surprisingly good. And just surprising, really. Don't spoil it for yourself and just give it a go, it's like a 10 minute experience. I also recently played Back in 1995 and boy, that was dull and went nowhere... but it tried to play it off like that was the point? But ehhhh I'm not really buying the "I meant for it to be bad for thematic reasons" excuse if that theme isn't interwoven into the game's plot or something like that, y'know?
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Aug 26, 2016 23:30
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VoidBurger posted:Oh, and if y'all haven't played the (FREE!) steam game Moirai, it's surprisingly good. And just surprising, really. Don't spoil it for yourself and just give it a go, it's like a 10 minute experience. talk to nobody about it just do it it's like 10-20 minutes and free, just goddamn do it
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Aug 27, 2016 00:04
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VoidBurger posted:Oh, and if y'all haven't played the (FREE!) steam game Moirai, it's surprisingly good. And just surprising, really. Don't spoil it for yourself and just give it a go, it's like a 10 minute experience. Spoilers Pretty sure I did the right thing here
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Aug 27, 2016 00:18
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Steam doesn't have it anywhere on their front page but the very excellent Fran Bow is half off this weekend for their one year anniversary.VoidBurger posted:I also recently played Back in 1995 and boy, that was dull and went nowhere... but it tried to play it off like that was the point? But ehhhh I'm not really buying the "I meant for it to be bad for thematic reasons" excuse if that theme isn't interwoven into the game's plot or something like that, y'know? Clearly you should have left on all that amazing fake screen static and CRT-vision. It's ~atmospheric~
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Aug 27, 2016 00:20
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Harvester is certainly a stylistic piece, and it certainly revels in the gore and nuttiness as much as it tries to critique it, but I don't think it works as well as some of y'all seem to. That's okay, though.  I mostly only remembered it for the scene with Steve's dad and the endings, so going back and reading the LP was enlightening. On the other hand, it reminded me that Hardcore Gaming 101 exists, so I lost a few hours clicking around on there again.Also, I don't recall when I got it, but I played through Belladonna recently. The art style is probably the best thing it has going for it, but if you're into gothic stuff, old school point-and-click, and lesbian clockwork frankensteins, it's worth the hour or so.
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Aug 27, 2016 01:00
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VoidBurger posted:Oh, and if y'all haven't played the (FREE!) steam game Moirai, it's surprisingly good. And just surprising, really. Don't spoil it for yourself and just give it a go, it's like a 10 minute experience. I tried Moirai and the idea is good, but you get out of it what you put in. Spoilers for my personal experience, but getting the email to find you've been murdered by farmer xxdankKush420xx ruins the feeling somewhat.
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Aug 27, 2016 01:56
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Huh that wasn't what I expected. Neat though.
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Aug 27, 2016 03:27
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Siren 1 is a bad game gameplaywise. It's got all the worst janky unforgiving bullshit of a survival horror game combined with Sierra tier obtuse as poo poo puzzles that would make Roberta Williams jealous. It's a shame that's the case, because everything else about it is good poo poo. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Aug 27, 2016 |
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Aug 27, 2016 04:03
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Accordion Man posted:Siren 1 is a bad game gameplaywise. It's got all the worst janky unforgiving bullshit of a survival horror game combined with Sierra tier obtuse as poo poo puzzles that would make Roberta Williams jealous. Yay! 
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Aug 27, 2016 04:12
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So is Rule of Rose, but everyone should find a way to play that once just so the story can suitably kick you in the stomach (I don't think watching a Let's Play of it would really have the same effect, unfortunately).
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Aug 27, 2016 04:50
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Rule of Rose's combat isn't good at all, but its actually very easy to avoid enemies. Siren just actively hates the player.
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Aug 27, 2016 04:54
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DeathChicken posted:So is Rule of Rose, but everyone should find a way to play that once just so the story can suitably kick you in the stomach (I don't think watching a Let's Play of it would really have the same effect, unfortunately). Rule of Rose is one of those games I'm really, really glad I played to the end, despite the terrible gameplay. That was one of the better stories I've played.
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Aug 27, 2016 05:08
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Night10194 posted:Rule of Rose is one of those games I'm really, really glad I played to the end, despite the terrible gameplay. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Aug 27, 2016 |
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Aug 27, 2016 06:20
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Going back to Resident Evil 7, the ESRB posted the ratings detail before Capcom asked them to remove it. It's basically a clear description of what the game will end up being and I'll spoiler it because Capcom has intentionally been cagey on what information they release. This is a survival-horror game in which players assume the role of Ethan, a man searching for his missing wife in a derelict mansion. From a first-person perspective, players explore the environment and use pistols, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives and chainsaws to kill mutant creatures. Combat is accompanied by realistic gunfire, screams of pain, and exaggerated blood-splatter effects. As players progress through the story, cutscenes can depict instances of gore and intense acts of violence: a character’s arm dismembered by a chainsaw; a man’s leg taken off at the knee with a shovel; a character impaled through the face with a shovel. Some areas also depict mutilated corpses with exposed organs/viscera. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” are heard in the dialogue. Out of curiosity I looked up RE4, 5, and 6's description. 4 and 5 are called "survival-horror action" and 6 is straight up "third-person shooter." The fact that Capcom is directly calling it survival-horror has me interested.
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Aug 27, 2016 07:37
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al-azad posted:Going back to Resident Evil 7, the ESRB posted the ratings detail before Capcom asked them to remove it. It's basically a clear description of what the game will end up being and I'll spoiler it because Capcom has intentionally been cagey on what information they release. I can't say I'm surprised by most of that, it's pretty broad stuff. The fact that there's explosives and chainsaws is interesting to me, its a lot more combat oriented than I had thought (versus "Outlast with a pistol")
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Aug 27, 2016 07:42
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Accordion Man posted:I'll always sing Rule of Rose's praises because it is unrivaled when it comes to being hauntingly sad. There are other great sad games like Silent Hill 2, LISA, or Nier, but as I said Rule of Rose has this atmosphere of sorrowful beauty that no other game before or since has come close to top. That last level will always stick with me. i'd love to play it, shame it costs hundreds of dollars
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Aug 27, 2016 08:18
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voltcatfish posted:i'd love to play it, shame it costs hundreds of dollars Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Aug 27, 2016 |
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Aug 27, 2016 08:21
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